Chapter 42
Everyday I Get up to See the Villain Stealing the Show 42
An Yuan was quiet, staring into the darkness .
Three people had followed them .
Han Changsheng’s voice fell, and it was quiet all around . Only the crackling of burning branches flickered through the air . Even if someone unskilled in martial arts was there, they would think Han Changsheng had made a mistake .
Han Changsheng smiled, picking up a half-burnt piece of firewood . Without warning, he threw it into the darkness . A scream echoed back . A man rolled out from behind a mound, his shoulder alight . He beat at the fire, desperate to put it out until another man came to help him . Together, they extinguished it .
At last, all three of them crept from the hidden hillock . They were strong, with big bodies and knives . Fierce as fiends, they stood with sturdy, muscled bodies . Wearing sackcloths, it was clear that they were bandits .
One of them was the silver peddler who had blackmailed An Yuan .
“You see, I told you to teach him a lesson,” Han Changsheng said, “And you stubbornly gave him silver . Not only did you waste Laozi’s silver, now you’ve made them think we’re easy pickings . ”
An Yuan didn’t speak . He put down his uneaten pheasant, resting it on the fire . It continued to bake .
The silver peddler neared, a broadsword at his side . “Give us all your silver, and we’ll consider letting you live . ”
The one with the burnt shoulder raged, “Elder brother, stop talking nonsense . Just kill them and grab the silver!”
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But, the peddler kept on, “Give up the money quickly, and we won’t take your lives . ”
Han Changsheng smiled, malicious and evil . “I wanted your life to be useful . You see, I’m short of people for whetting my blade!”
The second man was furious at his words, he roared in anger . He rushed towards Han Changsheng with a knife in hand . The peddler wanted to stop him but didn’t . The third man ran towards An Yuan, ready to fight .
Han Changsheng dodged and blocked An Yuan . After pretending to be Li Jiulong for so long, blocking swords and spears for An Yuan was second nature . He had a subconscious reaction to protect him . As soon as he saw someone wielding a knife or spear, he would jump in to protect him . He almost blurted, “If you have the courage, come at me . ”
Just when he was about to speak, he remembered that this version of An Yuan was vastly different from the one he protected as Li Jiulong . It was almost funny .
Since Han Changsheng was so active and considerate, An Yuan sat still and didn’t talk, as if the matter had nothing to do with him .
The two men didn’t take Han Changsheng seriously . To them, he and An Yuan were just two rich men from the city . They had experienced nothing as rough as the life of a bandit and had never killed anyone . They had small arms and calves, the men could break them with only a wrench .
“Bang!”
The man’s sword shot forward to Han Changsheng’s face . Acting fast, Han Changsheng drew out his own . The swords connected, tip to tip . His internal strength forced the man back two steps, coughing up blood .
But, Han Changsheng didn’t take advantage of his retreat . A mischievous smile curled up his lip .
They had a huge difference in strength . The three men had little internal power, they were blundering with reckless force . Their posture was terrible, they could only scare away novices who hadn’t learned martial arts . In the past, the fight would’ve taken more effort . But now, he could fight them off with just one finger .
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With a power gap this wide, he could beat down the three weak men in a single move . Han Changsheng had a dark playfulness in his heart . He wanted them to know how weak they were .
Seeing their companion forced away by Han Changsheng’s moves, the other two were shocked .
Han Changsheng provoked them, “And here I thought you’d be powerful . ”
The other man couldn’t restrain his rage and rushed toward Han Changsheng again . When the peddler looked at his injured comrade, he finally started to make his move .
The two men swooped in front of Han Changsheng, both of them drawing out their blades . Leaving his sword in its sheath, Han Changsheng dodged both of them . In their eyes, as long as they were more accurate than he was, they could cut him down . But, to Han Changsheng, it was far too easy .
The men kept slashing one after the other, but each time they would find that their attacks missed .
A huge pressure overwhelmed them . The peddler held his knife in the air, shivering . His arms were frozen midair, unable to move . Another man found himself even more embarrassed . Taking two steps back, he fell on the ground, his face white with fear .
Han Changsheng, standing with his hands on his back, looked like he hadn’t done a thing .
The two men looked at him, and he looked back . The hair on their arms stood on end . What happened? None of them knew! They were in a panic, short of breath, as if they’d been attacked by a demon . They had no strength in their bodies .
Because the two men had never practiced their internal strength, they didn’t know the evil force that oppressed them stemmed from Han Changsheng’s powerful internal strength . However, because they had none, they just escaped a disaster . They were lucky they only felt flustered and short of breath, rather than going into Qi deviation and bleeding to death .
Han Changsheng looked at the two shivering men, a satisfied smile on his face . The cultivation of internal skill didn’t only strengthen the body, it could also become a powerful weapon . Several sects in the Jianghu specialized in the internal skill . Under normal circumstances, the human’s acupoints were closed internally, and real Qi flowed in the body without overflowing .
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Just then, he reopened his path and released his real Qi . He formed an immense pressure on the bandits, so they would stop fighting and retreat .
Internal power was limited, and as long as the internal skills were properly cultivated, real Qi could be regenerated infinitely . When the internal skill cultivation reached a certain level, one could also use Qi as a sword, such as the six pulses divine blade .
Han Changsheng had practiced some kung fu before, but his internal skill wasn’t powerful enough to do much with it . Now, though, the mysterious old man gave him all his internal strength . After months of recuperation with An Yuan’s help, he finally had some control over it .
This was the first time he tried to oppress his opponents with real Qi . The poor bandits were his small-scale lab rats, but he was proud . It was a great feeling .
“You . . . ” Han Changsheng opened his mouth to speak, but his face changed . Suddenly, his Dantian was empty, and Qi began to move chaotically through his body . Every day, An Yuan helped him balance his internal force, and he hadn’t had Qi deviation by it for a long time . But now, it was recurring .
Falling to the ground, Han Changsheng clutched at his chest .
An Yuan, who watched for a long time, finally reacted . He frowned, walking to Han Changsheng’s side, and grabbed his hand .
Han Changsheng closed his eyes and groaned miserably .
The three bandits fell from their frozen stances, shocked . One of them reached for his broadsword, struggling to get up . Carefully, he approached An Yuan and Han Changsheng . He wanted to rob them, but An Yuan gave him a sharp look . “One step closer, and it’s your death . Get out of here!” His powerful, murderous tone made the men tremble and run back .
The peddler covered his chest and climbed to his feet . “Let’s withdraw!”
Almost all three of them were injured . Even though An Yuan never stepped foot into their fight until the very end, he looked even more powerful than Han Changsheng . The three dared not to pester them anymore . Helping each other along, they ran off into the distance . The silver peddler ran a few steps, but hesitated, looking back at An Yuan . His companion gave him a quick tug, then ran on . In a moment, the three disappeared into the desolate night .
Han Changsheng had sweat pouring down his forehead . Looking up at An Yuan, he asked, “Why did you let them go?”
Without feeling, An Yuan replied, “Shut up!”
Angry, Han Changsheng said, “I’m so kind to you . I taught you martial arts and I’m helping you investigate what happened to your father . In return, why are you so cruel to me? Those thieves tried to rob us in the middle of the night, and you just let them go?”
An Yuan frowned . “Shut up, if you don’t want to suffer!”
Han Changsheng was so furious, e wished he had a whip to lash An Yuan in the butt .
Cold sweat dripped from An Yuan’s forehead . His frown wasn’t only impatient but painful . Stunned, Han Changsheng swallowed his words and looked down . An Yuan had bled through his robe .
When did An Yuan get hurt? He hadn’t fought at all . He was fine until then!
An Yuan hummed again . Something hit his right shoulder, and he shuddered, leaning back . He clutched Han Changsheng’s hand harder . Stunned, Han Changsheng suddenly regained control of his thoughts . The thieves didn’t hurt An Yuan, he did . He couldn’t control his Qi, his Qi path was still open, and the fierce Qi was overflowing . Every time he was angry, he unconsciously hurt An Yuan, but An Yuan said nothing . He just tried to help him suppress his rage .
Han Changsheng bared his teeth, and his anger half gone . He tried to calm himself, helping his Qi return . It was an accident that he hurt the Dog Lord; he didn’t expect his Qi could run amok and hurt both of them . It was his misfortune!
Squeezing his eyes shut, Han Changsheng murmured, “I asked you to pass on the mantra or teach me to neutralize my internal power on my own . But you insisted on staying with me . If you had done as I asked, this would have never happened . ”
Coldly, An Yuan replied, “Don’t even think about it . I said your life and death are in my hands!”